South Australian Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT 2004 - SECT 76

76—Preparation of water allocation plans

        (1)         A regional NRM board must prepare a water allocation plan for each of the prescribed water resources in its region.

        (2)         A plan prepared by a regional NRM board under subsection (1) will be taken to form part of the board's regional NRM plan (and procedures relating to the preparation and adoption of the plan may (but need not) be undertaken in conjunction with procedures for the preparation and adoption of that regional NRM plan).

        (3)         A water allocation plan may relate to more than one prescribed water resource.

        (4)         A water allocation plan must—

            (a)         include—

                  (i)         an assessment of the quantity and quality of water needed by the ecosystems that depend on the water resource and the times at which, or the periods during which, those ecosystems will need that water; and

                  (ii)         an assessment as to whether the taking or use of water from the resource will have a detrimental effect on the quantity or quality of water that is available from any other water resource; and

            (aab)         include—

                  (i)         an assessment of the capacity of the water resource to meet environmental water requirements; and

                  (ii)         information about the water that is to be set aside for the environment including, insofar as is reasonably practicable, information about the quantity and quality, the time when that water is expected to be made available, and the type and extent of the ecosystems to which it is to be provided; and

                  (iii)         a statement of the environmental outcomes expected to be delivered on account of the provision of environmental water under the plan; and

            (ab)         determine, or provide a mechanism for determining, from time to time, a consumptive pool, or consumptive pools, for the water resource; and

            (b)         set out principles associated with the determination of water access entitlements and for the taking and use of water so that—

                  (i)         an equitable balance is achieved between environmental, social and economic needs for the water; and

                  (ii)         the rate of the taking and use of the water is sustainable; and

            (c)         in providing for the allocation of water take into account the present and future needs of the occupiers of land in relation to the existing requirements and future capacity of the land and the likely effect of those provisions on the value of the land; and

            (d)         assess the capacity of the resource to meet the demands for water on a continuing basis and provide for regular monitoring of the capacity of the resource to meet those demands; and

            (e)         identify and assess methods for the conservation, use and management of water in an efficient and sustainable manner; and

            (h)         to the extent that the regional NRM plan does not so provide—

                  (i)         set out matters that should be taken into account when a relevant authority is exercising a power to grant or refuse a permit under Chapter 7 Part 2 ; and

                  (ii)         identify any policies reflected in a Development Plan under the Development Act 1993 that applies within its region that should, in the opinion of the board, be reviewed under that Act in order to improve the relationship in the policies in the Development Plan and the policies reflected in the water allocation plan; and

                  (iii)         identify the changes (if any) considered by the board to be necessary or desirable to any other statutory instrument, plan or policy (including subordinate legislation); and

                  (i)         include such other information or material contemplated by this Act or required by the regulations.

        (4a)         A water allocation plan may provide for the constitution of 2 or more consumptive pools with respect to a particular part of a water resource and, in relation to each consumptive pool, assign a particular purpose to that consumptive pool.

        (4b)         The basis on which a water access entitlement is to be determined may be expressed—

            (a)         as a specified share of the water that constitutes the relevant consumptive pool from time to time, expressed—

                  (i)         as a number of units of a total number of units; or

                  (ii)         as a percentage,

(as made available over a specified period); or

            (b)         as a specified maximum volume over a specified period; or

            (c)         if relevant in view of the nature of the particular water resource, as a specified proportion of water held in the relevant water resource, or a specified proportion of any inflow of water; or

            (d)         on any basis prescribed by the regulations; or

            (e)         on any other basis that the regional NRM board considers should apply under the water allocation plan.

        (4c)         The periods specified for the purposes of a water access entitlement under subsection (4b) may be recurrent periods (such as financial years).

        (4d)         A water allocation plan may—

            (a)         set out appropriate policies and principles to assist in regulating the transfer of, or other dealings with, water management authorisations or water access entitlements (which policies may include provisions that provide for the varying of any water management authorisation or water access entitlements or prevent specified classes of transfers or dealings in specified circumstances); and

            (b)         specify the classes of applications which will be subject to the operation of section 162 or 164D .

        (4e)         A water allocation plan may provide for the variation of site use approvals or water resource works approvals of classes specified by the plan in circumstances specified by the plan.

        (5)         The plan should be consistent with the other parts of the regional NRM plan.

        (6)         If the taking, or the taking and use, of water from a water resource has, or is likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quantity or quality of water that is available from another water resource, the water allocation plan for the first mentioned resource must take into account the needs of persons and ecosystems using water from the other resource as well as the needs of persons and ecosystems using water from its own resource and may, to achieve an equitable balance between competing interests, include provisions designed to prevent or reduce those detrimental effects.

        (7)         If the taking, or the taking and use, of water from a water resource affects, or is likely to affect, the management of water in another water resource, the water allocation plan for the second mentioned water resource may include provisions relating to the taking, or the taking and use, of water from the firstmentioned water resource.

        (8)         A water allocation plan may, in order to improve the management of a water resource, change the basis on which water is allocated from the resource notwithstanding that a consequential variation of a water licence to maintain consistency with the plan results in a reduction or increase in the quantity of water allocated in relation to the licence.

        (8a)         For the purposes of this section, environmental water requirements are those water requirements that must be met in order to sustain the ecological values of ecosystems that depend on the water resource, including their processes and biodiversity, at a low level of risk.

        (9)         A water allocation plan may, in connection with the management of a prescribed water resource—

            (a)         set out or identify appropriate principles and methodologies to determine the impact that commercial forests may have on the prescribed water resource and, on the basis of those principles and methodologies, specify hydrological values, as measurements of hydrological impact, that may be assigned to various classes of commercial forest; and

            (b)         designate commercial forests, or commercial forests of a specified class or classes, within a defined area as commercial forests that, on account of assessments undertaken by the regional NRM board, have been identified as being appropriate to bring within the ambit of Part 5A Division 2 of Chapter 7 on account of their impacts on the prescribed water resource (taking into account the requirements of that Part); and

            (c)         set out policies or criteria that are to apply for the purposes of determining the extent to which a water allocation under Chapter 7 Part 5A should be varied in various cases (which may include circumstances that lead to an allocation being reduced to zero).

        (10)         A water allocation plan may, for the purposes of subsection (9) —

            (a)         make different provision as to any principles, methodologies or values according to any matter or circumstance specified by the regional NRM board;

            (b)         specify values (as measurements of hydrological impact) according to any number of trees, volume, area, year or other factor (as determined by the regional NRM board);

            (c)         exclude specified forests, or forests of a specified class, from a designation under subsection (9)(b) (so as to exclude them from the operation of Chapter 7 Part 5A Division 2 ).

        (11)         A designation under subsection (9)(b) may be made on the basis of an assessment of hydrological impacts that the commercial forests are having, or may be expected to have, on the prescribed water resource.

        (12)         A summary of the assessments undertaken for the purposes of subsection (9)(b) must be included in the water allocation plan.

        (13)         For the purposes of subsections (9) and (10), hydrological impacts may be determined according to an assessment by the regional NRM board of 1 or more of the following:

            (a)         groundwater recharge reduction;

            (b)         surface water run off reduction;

            (c)         direct extraction from aquifers;

            (d)         any impact prescribed by the regulations.

        (14)         To avoid doubt, a water allocation plan may make provision under subsection (9) in relation to 1 or more commercial forests despite the fact that the commercial forest or commercial forests have not been the subject of a notice under section 125(5a) .